<p>There is anecdotal evidence, otherwise we wouldn’t see some schools getting in a much higher percentage of their applicants than the national average. And they are doing it with some applicants with GPAs below the national average. Although we don’t have direct evidence, you have to acknowledge that on the surface, you’d much rather be applying to med school with a 3.5 from JHU rather than a 3.5 from Directional State, all other things being equal. (The national average for all applicants is 3.54, MCAT is 29)</p>
<p>The national acceptance average for all med school applicants is just under 42% in 2013. JHU has 20% of each freshman class eventually applying to med school, with 80%+ getting in, and sometimes 90%+, so maybe there’s something to be said about going to JHU. If JHU applicants get in at nearly double the national rate, that means some schools are getting in at well below the national rate. Now, is it who goes to JHU that makes that possible or is it something JHU does, or is it some combination? We just don’t know, but if you had a choice, regardless of cost, of where to go to pre-med, which school would you choose between JHU and Directional State? The race may not always be to the strongest or the swiftest, but that’s the way to bet.</p>
<p>If you look at reported med school admit rates with a constant GPA and MCAT score, different undergrad colleges have quite different degrees of success. For example, the self-reported admit rates for different undergrad colleges among MD Applicant members who had a 3.4 to 3.6 GPA with a 32-34 MCAT is below. I’ve listed the estimated mean GPA of the college in parenthesis, which is based on the trend listed at GradeInflation, since a 3.4 to 3.6 means different things at different colleges. Note that a 3.4-3.6 was slightly below the estimated mean GPA at Harvard, yet the acceptance rate was 100% (small sample size). And a 3.4-3.6 was well above the average GPA at Texas, yet most applicants were rejected. A similar pattern occurs at lower GPAs, with most persons who have self-reported GPAs towards the bottom of their class at Harvard/Stanford/Brown/… reporting getting accepted to a med school, but few with similar GPAs who attended less selective colleges. It’s likely that the Harvard/Stanford/Brown/… students had better ECs or other special hook that increases chance of admission, yet I doubt that that explains all of the difference.</p>
<p>Good data, Data. However, one factor you’re ignoring is that the difficulty of entering medical school can vary a fair bit by state of residence.</p>
<p>For instance, 316 AR residents applied to the only (public) medical school in AR. 151 matriculated there. </p>
<p>What was the success rate for undergrads at UofArkansas applying with the stats that you listed above?</p>
<p>@MrMom: You’re probably right when it comes to some med schools. However, I’d expect you to concede that pulling a 3.5 (in GPA and science GPA) from directional U is easier than pulling a 3.5 (in GPA and science GPA) at JHU.</p>
<p>Arkansas has a small sample size, with GPAs and MCAT scores all over the map, so any particular range has too small a sample size to be significant. Similar sample size issues occur with many undergrad colleges. However, if I choose a range for a significant sample among colleges in the same state – one more selective and one less selective, the same pattern almost always emerges. For example, the OP mentioned Texas, so I’ll compare Rice to the Texas public system. The GPA and MCAT range with the largest sample size for Rice is 3.7-3.9 and 33-36. Members with stats in this range who did their undergrad at Rice had a med school admit rate of 100%. Members with stats in this range who did their undergrad at Texas had a 68% admit rate. A 68% admit is certainly respectable with plenty of success stories, but it’s not on the same level as Rice’s 100% rate.</p>
<p>OK, that’s certainly helpful. Where are you pulling this data from, Data, if I may ask? I’d like to take a look myself if possible. Texas is UT system or UT-Austin?</p>
<p>The numbers listed are based on self-reported admission results from members at mdapplicants.com . My listing for “Texas” included all applicants who attended an undergrad college containing the word “Texas”. The majority of applicants in this stat group attended UT Austin, and a significant portion attended Texas A&M.</p>
<p>Some interesting stories on that site, even if it is all self-reported data. Was looking up kids going to D’s school, and even a C- in a pre-med class didn’t stop med school acceptance if everything else added up. Even a kid that was sub-3.0 at least got into D.O. schools.</p>